Execution of Vorenok
On a frosty day on December 16, 1614 in Moscow, at the Serpukhov Gate, the execution of a state criminal took place.
The Time of Troubles, going down in history, ended with reprisals against its most active participants, who did not want to recognize the restoration of legality in Russia. But this execution had little to do with the triumph of the law. The man sentenced to death was not even four years old. Nevertheless, the executioner threw a noose around his small head and hanged the unfortunate man.
However, the noose and the gallows were designed for an adult, and not for the puny body of a child. As a result, the unfortunate child died for more than three hours, choking, crying and calling for his mother. Perhaps in the end the boy died not even from suffocation, but from cold.
Pyotr Romanov: False Dmitry. An attempt to restore an old portrait
During the years of the Time of Troubles, Russia became accustomed to atrocities, but the execution carried out on December 16 was out of the ordinary.
The person executed was Ivan Vorenok , sentenced to death “for his evil deeds.”
In fact, the three-year-old boy, whose massacre ended the Time of Troubles, was the son of False Dmitry II and Marina Mnishek. In the eyes of his parents' supporters, the boy was Tsarevich Ivan Dmitrievich, the legal heir to the Russian throne.
Of course, in fact, the boy had no rights to power. However, supporters of the new Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov believed that the little “prince” could become a “banner” for opponents of the new dynasty.
“We can’t leave them the banner,” the Romanov supporters decided and sent the three-year-old child to the gallows.
Could any of them then have thought that three centuries later the reign of the Romanovs would end the same way it began?
Heir at any cost
The monarchs from the House of Romanov, taught by bitter experience, feared dynastic crises like fire. They could only be avoided if the reigning monarch had an heir, or better yet two or three, in order to avoid accidents.
Personal coat of arms of the heir to the Tsarevich and Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaevich. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / B.V. Köhne
Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov , aka Nicholas II, ascended the throne in 1894, 26 years old. At that time, the new monarch was not even married, although the marriage to Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt , later known as Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, had already been scheduled.
The wedding celebrations and the “honeymoon” of the newlyweds took place in an atmosphere of funeral services and mourning for the father of Nicholas II, Emperor Alexander III .
But when the grief subsided a little, representatives of the ruling circles of Russia began to closely monitor the empress. The country needed an heir to the throne, and the sooner the better. Alexandra Fedorovna, a woman with a tough and decisive character, was unlikely to be happy with such attention to her person, but nothing can be done - such are the costs of living in royal families.
The wife of Nicholas II became pregnant regularly and regularly gave birth to daughters - Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia... And with each new girl, the mood at the Russian court became more and more pessimistic.
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And yet, in the tenth year of the reign of Nicholas II, on July 30 (August 12, new style) 1904, Alexandra Feodorovna gave her husband an heir.
By the way, the very birth of a son, named Alexei, greatly spoiled the relationship between Nikolai and his wife. The fact is that before the birth, the emperor gave an order to doctors: if the life of the mother and baby is threatened, save the baby first. Alexandra, who learned about her husband’s order, could not forgive him for this.
Born in Peterhof. From birth, the Tsarevich suffered from an incurable blood disease - hemophilia, which he inherited through his mother from his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria of England. The disease became evident already in the fall of 1904, when a two-month-old baby began to bleed heavily.
Any scratch could lead to the death of the child; the lining of his arteries and veins was so weak that any bruise, increased movement or tension could cause rupture of blood vessels and lead to a fatal end: a fall, a nosebleed, a simple cut - everything that would be a trifle for an ordinary child could be fatal for Alexei. From the very first years of his life, the Tsarevich required special care and constant vigilance, as a result of which, on doctors’ orders, two sailors from the imperial yacht were assigned to him as bodyguards: the boatswain Derevenko and his assistant Nagorny.
In accordance with the “Institution of the Imperial Family”, during the baptism the Tsarevich was awarded the orders of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, St. Alexander Nevsky, White Eagle, St. Anna 1st degree, St. Stanislav 1st degree.
On July 30 (August 12, new style), 1904, the only son of the last Russian Sovereign Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, heir to the throne of the Russian Empire, Tsarevich Alexei, was born in Peterhof.
He was the fifth and very long-awaited child of the royal couple, for whom they prayed a lot and fervently, including during celebrations dedicated to the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov July 17-19, 1903
CESAREVICH'S BAPTISM
On September 3, 1904, in the church of the Great Peterhof Palace, the sacrament of Baptism of the Tsarevich was performed with the name in honor of St. Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow. According to a number of researchers, the heir received the name Alexey in memory of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676). The successors of the porphyritic baby were the English and Danish kings, the German emperor, as well as the Russian Grand Dukes.
ESTABLISHMENT OF CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS
Since Russia was at war with Japan during this period, all officers and soldiers of the Russian army and navy were proclaimed honorary godparents of the heir. According to tradition, in connection with the birth of the heir, charitable organizations were established: a military hospital train named after the heir-cresarevich, the Alekseevsky Committee to assist children who lost their fathers in the Russian-Japanese War.
MEMORIES OF P. GILIARD ABOUT THE HEIR
The educator and teacher of the royal children, Pierre Gilliard, in his memoirs recalls how he first saw the Tsarevich, who was then one and a half years old, in February 1906: “... I was already preparing to finish my lesson with Olga Nikolaevna, when the Empress entered with the Grand Duke Heir in her arms . She came to us with the obvious intention of showing me her son, whom I did not yet know. The joy of her mother shone on her face, having finally seen her most cherished dream come true. It was felt that she was proud and happy with the beauty of her child.
APPEARANCE AND BEHAVIOR OF THE TSAREVICH
And in fact, the Tsarevich was at that time the most marvelous child one could dream of, with his wonderful blond curls and large gray-blue eyes, shaded by long, curled eyelashes. He had the fresh and rosy complexion of a healthy child, and when he smiled, two dimples appeared on his round cheeks. When I approached him, he looked at me seriously and shyly, and only with great difficulty did he decide to extend his small hand to me.
THE EMPRESS AND ALEXEY
During this first meeting, I saw several times how the Empress hugged the Tsarevich to her with the tender gesture of a mother who always seems to tremble for the life of her child; but this caress and the look that accompanied it revealed so clearly and so strongly hidden anxiety that I was already amazed by it. It was only a long time later that I came to understand its meaning.”
Terrible disease.
On his mother's side, Alexey inherited hemophilia, the carriers of which were some of the daughters and granddaughters of Queen Victoria of England (1837-1901). The disease became evident already in the fall of 1904, when a two-month-old baby began to bleed heavily. Any scratch could lead to the death of the child; the lining of his arteries and veins was so weak that any bruise, increased movement or tension could cause rupture of blood vessels and lead to a fatal end: a fall, a nosebleed, a simple cut - everything that would be a trifle for an ordinary child could be fatal for Alexei.
ASSISTANTS OF ALESEY NIKOLAEVICH
From the very first years of his life, the Tsarevich required special care and constant vigilance, as a result of which, on doctors’ orders, two sailors from the imperial yacht were assigned to him as bodyguards: the boatswain Derevenko and his assistant Nagorny
MEMORIES OF ANNA TANEEVA ABOUT THE TSAREVICH
The Empress's maid of honor Anna Taneyeva wrote: “The life of Alexei Nikolaevich was one of the most tragic in the history of the Tsar’s children. He was a charming, affectionate boy, the most beautiful of all children. In early childhood, his parents and nanny Maria Vishnyakova spoiled him greatly, fulfilling his slightest whims.
And this is understandable, since it was very difficult to see the constant suffering of the little one; Whether he hit his head or his hand on the furniture, a huge blue tumor would immediately appear, indicating an internal hemorrhage that was causing him great suffering. At the age of five or six he passed into the hands of men, to uncle Derevenko. This one used to be less pampering, although he was very loyal and had great patience.
I hear Alexei Nikolaevich’s voice during his illnesses: “Raise my hand,” or: “Turn my leg,” or: “Warm my hands,” and often Derevenko calmed him down. When he began to grow up, his parents explained his illness to Alexei Nikolaevich, asking him to be careful. But the heir was very lively, loved the games and fun of boys, and it was often impossible to restrain him. “Give me a bicycle,” he asked his mother. “Alexey, you know you can’t!” - “I want to learn to play tennis like my sisters!” - “You know that you don’t dare play.” Sometimes Alexey Nikolaevich cried, repeating: “Why am I not like all the boys?”
ALEXEY'S REFLECTIONS
Alexey understood perfectly well that he might not live to reach adulthood. When he was ten years old, his older sister Olga found him lying on his back and looking at the clouds. She asked what he was doing. “I like to think and reflect,” Alexey answered. Olga asked what he liked to think about. “Oh, a lot of things,” the boy replied, “I enjoy the sun and the beauty of summer while I can. Who knows, maybe one of these days I won’t be able to do this anymore.”
Life in Tsarskoe Selo
APPEARANCE OF ALEXEY NIKOLAEVICH
Outwardly, Alexei resembled the Empress and Grand Duchess Tatiana: he had the same delicate facial features and large blue eyes. P. Gilliard describes him as follows: “Alexey Nikolaevich was then nine and a half years old. He was quite large for his age, had a thin, elongated oval face with delicate features, wonderful light brown hair with bronze tints, large blue-gray eyes, reminiscent of his mother's eyes.
GAMES WITH FRIENDS
He thoroughly enjoyed life when he could, like a playful and cheerful boy. His tastes were very modest. He was not at all proud of the fact that he was the heir to the throne; this was the last thing he thought about. His greatest happiness was playing with the two sons of the sailor Derevenko, who were both somewhat younger than him.
He had great quickness of mind and judgment and a lot of thoughtfulness. He sometimes amazed me with questions above his age, which testified to a delicate and sensitive soul. I easily understood that those who, like me, did not have to instill discipline in him, could easily succumb to his charm without a second thought. In the little capricious creature that he seemed at first, I discovered a child with a heart that was naturally loving and sensitive to suffering, because he himself had already suffered a lot.”
S.Ya. OFROSIMOV ABOUT ALEXEY NIKOLAEVICH
Resident of Tsarskoye Selo S.Ya. Ofrosimova shares the following impressions: “The heir Tsarevich had a very soft and kind heart. He was passionately attached not only to those close to him, but also to the ordinary employees around him. None of them saw arrogance or harsh behavior from him. He especially quickly and passionately became attached to ordinary people. His love for Uncle Derevenko was tender, hot and touching. One of his greatest pleasures was playing with his uncle’s children and being among ordinary soldiers.”
DREAMS
With interest and deep attention, he peered into the lives of ordinary people, and often an exclamation escaped him: “When I am king, there will be no poor and unhappy! I want everyone to be happy."
COMPASSION AND COMPLIANCE OF THE HEIRS TO RELATIVES
A.A. Taneyeva recalled: “The heir took an ardent part if the servants experienced any grief. His Majesty was also compassionate, but did not actively express it, while Alexey Nikolaevich did not calm down until he immediately helped. I remember the case of a cook who for some reason was denied a position. Alexey Nikolaevich somehow found out about this and pestered his parents all day until they ordered the cook to be taken back again. He defended and stood up for all his people.”
HEIRS' STUDY
At the age of seven, Alexey began to study. The classes were led by the Empress, who herself chose the teachers: the spiritual teacher of the imperial family, Archpriest Alexander Vasiliev, became the teacher of the law; the teacher of the Russian language was Privy Councilor P.V. Petrov, arithmetic teacher - State Councilor E.P. Tsytovich, French teacher and tutor - P. Gilliard, English was taught by C. Gibbs and Alexandra Fedorovna herself.
LIFE IN TSARSKOYE SELO
Life in Tsarskoe Selo was of a close family nature: the retinue, with the exception of the ladies-in-waiting on duty and the commander of the consolidated guards regiment, did not live in the palace, and the Royal family, except when visiting relatives, gathered at the table without strangers and quite easily. The Tsarevich's lessons began at nine o'clock with a break between eleven and noon, during which the heir and his teacher went for a walk in a carriage, sleigh or car. Then classes resumed until lunch, after which Alexey always spent two hours outdoors. The Grand Duchesses and the Emperor, when he was free, joined him. In winter, Alexey had fun with his sisters, descending from an icy mountain built on the shore of a small artificial lake.
LOVE TO THE ANIMALS
Just like his sisters, the Tsarevich adored animals. P. Gilliard recalls: “He loved to play with his donkey Vanka, who was harnessed to a small sleigh, or with his dog Joy, a dark brown lapdog on low legs, with long silky ears falling almost to the floor. Vanka was an incomparable, smart and funny animal.
When they wanted to give Alexey Nikolaevich a donkey, they turned to all the dealers in St. Petersburg for a long time, but to no avail; then the Ciniselli circus agreed to give up the old donkey, which, due to its decrepitude, was no longer suitable for performances. And this is how Vanka appeared at the Court, apparently fully appreciating the palace stables. He amused us very much, as he knew many of the most incredible tricks. With great dexterity, he turned out his pockets in the hope of finding sweets in them. He found a special charm in old rubber balls, which he casually chewed with one eye closed, like an old Yankee.
These two animals played a big role in the life of Alexei Nikolaevich, who had very little entertainment. He suffered mainly from the lack of comrades. Fortunately, his sisters, as I said, loved to play with him; they brought fun and youth into his life, without which it would have been very difficult for him. During his daytime walks, the Emperor, who loved to walk a lot, usually walked around the park with one of his daughters, but he also happened to join us, and with his help we once built a huge snow tower, which took on the appearance of an impressive fortress and occupied us for several weeks.” .
Fatal name
The long-awaited son was named Alexei, in honor of St. Alexei of Moscow. Both the boy’s father and mother were prone to mysticism, so it is not clear why they gave the heir such an unfortunate name.
Before Alexei Nikolaevich, there were already two princes Alexei in Rus'. The first, Alexey Alekseevich, the son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich , died of a sudden illness before his 16th birthday. The second, Alexei Petrovich, son of Peter the Great , was accused by his father of treason and died in prison.
Corporal of the Russian Army Alexey Romanov. 1916. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
The fact that a difficult fate awaited the third Alexei also became clear in infancy. He was not even two months old when he suddenly began bleeding from his navel, which was difficult to stop.
Doctors made a terrible diagnosis - hemophilia. Due to a blood clotting disorder, any scratch or blow was dangerous for Alexey. Internal bleeding caused by trivial bruises caused the boy terrible suffering and threatened him with death.
Hemophilia is a hereditary disease; only men who get it from their mothers get it.
For Alexandra Fedorovna, her son’s illness became a personal tragedy. In addition, the attitude towards her in Russia, already quite cold, has become even worse. “A German woman who spoiled Russian blood,” is the popular conclusion about the causes of the prince’s illness.
The prince loved “soldiers’ delicacies”
Apart from a serious illness, Tsarevich Alexei was an ordinary boy. Handsome in appearance, kind, adored his parents and sisters, cheerful, he aroused sympathy among everyone. Even at the guards of the “Ipatiev House”, where he was to spend his last days...
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The prince studied well, although not without laziness, which was especially evident in avoiding reading. The boy really liked everything connected with the army.
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He preferred to spend time with soldiers rather than with courtiers, and sometimes he would get into such expressions that his mother would be horrified. However, the boy preferred to share his “verbal discoveries” mostly with his diary.
Alexey loved simple “soldier’s” food - porridge, cabbage soup, black bread, which was brought to him from the kitchen of the palace guard regiment.
In a word, an ordinary child, unlike many Romanovs, devoid of arrogance, narcissism and pathological cruelty.
But the disease increasingly invaded Alexei’s life. Any injury turned him practically into an invalid for several weeks, when he could not even move independently.
Renunciation
One day, at the age of 8, the active prince unsuccessfully jumped into a boat and severely bruised his thigh in the groin area. The consequences were so severe that Alexei’s life was in danger.
Children of Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II in Tsarskoye Selo. Grand Duchesses and Tsarevich: Olga, Alexei, Anastasia and Tatiana. Alexander Park, Tsarskoe Selo. May 1917. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Exhibition “German St. Petersburg”
The suffering of his son turned the souls of both the Tsar and Alexandra Feodorovna. It is not surprising that the Siberian man Grigory Rasputin , who knew how to alleviate Alexei’s suffering, soon became one of the most influential people in Russia. But it was precisely this influence of Rasputin that would finally undermine the authority of Nicholas II in the country.
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It is clear that the future fate of his son worried his father. Although Alexei’s age made it possible to postpone making a final decision “until later,” Nicholas II consulted with doctors, asking them the main question: would the heir be able to fully fulfill the duties of a monarch in the future?
Doctors shrugged: patients with hemophilia can live a long and fulfilling life, but any accident threatens them with the most serious consequences.
Fate decided for the emperor. During the February Revolution, Nicholas II abdicated the throne for both himself and his son. He considered that Alexei was too young and sick to ascend the throne of a country that had entered an era of great upheaval.
Tsarevich Alexey
On August 12, 1904, Tsarevich Alexei Romanov was born.
Private bussiness
Alexey Nikolaevich Romanov (1904-1918) was born in Peterhof, was the fifth and most long-awaited child in the family of Emperor Nicholas II. Before this, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna gave birth to four daughters one after another. Almost despairing of waiting for their son, the royal couple attended the glorification of Seraphim of Sarov in July 1903 in Sarov, where the emperor and empress prayed for an heir.
However, the parents' joy after the birth of their son was very soon overshadowed by horror - on his mother's side, Alexey inherited hemophilia - a rare hereditary disease associated with a violation of the blood clotting process.
The disease hemophilia became obvious in the Tsarevich already in September 1904, when the baby, not yet two months old, began to have severe bleeding from the navel.
The heir’s illness manifested itself in the fact that every bruise, which resulted in the rupture of even the tiniest internal blood vessel (which in an ordinary person would have resulted in a simple bruise), caused internal bleeding that did not stop. Slowly but without stopping, the blood penetrated into the surrounding muscles and other tissues, a hematoma the size of a large apple formed, the skin lost its elasticity and could no longer stretch, the pressure slowed down the blood circulation, resulting in the formation of a blood clot. After this, the hematoma gradually resolved and the dark purple bruise turned into a spotted yellowish-green. Minor external cuts or scratches anywhere on the surface of the body did not pose a danger - they were immediately healed, and then a tight bandage was applied to them, which compressed the blood vessel and allowed the damage to gradually heal. The exception was bleeding from the mouth or nose, since in such places it was impossible to apply a bandage to the source of bleeding. One day, the prince almost died from a nosebleed, although he did not experience any pain.
The disease caused constant hemorrhages in the joints, which caused Alexei unbearable pain and turned him into a disabled person. Blood, accumulating in the joint space of the elbow, knee or ankle, pressed on the nerve, resulting in severe pain. In addition, the blood that entered the joint destroyed the tendons and tissues, causing the limbs to freeze in a bent position. Sometimes the cause of the hemorrhage was known, sometimes not. It happened that the Tsarevich simply announced: “Mom, I can’t walk today,” or: “Mom, I can’t bend my elbow today.” The best way to get out of this state was constant exercise and massage, but there was always a danger that bleeding would start again. The heir was not given morphine to relieve pain symptoms because of its destructive properties, so he stopped feeling pain only when he lost consciousness. Each case meant weeks of bed rest, and treatment included hot mud baths and a litany of heavy iron orthopedic devices designed to straighten the limbs.
In the fall of 1912, during the traditional stay of the royal family in the hunting ground of Spala in Eastern Poland, the Tsarevich unsuccessfully jumped into a boat and severely bruised the inner side of the thigh in the groin area: the resulting hematoma did not resolve for a long time, the child’s health condition was very serious, there was a real threat of death. These days, for the first and only time, a government bulletin was published about the serious condition of the heir. In it, however, the Tsarevich’s illness was not named.
“The unfortunate little one suffered terribly,” Nikolai wrote to his mother, “the pain seized him in spasms and repeated almost every quarter of an hour. Due to the high temperature, he became delirious day and night, sat up in bed, and pain immediately began from movement. He almost couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t cry either, he just moaned and said: “Lord, have mercy.”
Due to hemorrhages in the joints, the heir was often unable to walk, and in all necessary cases he was carried in the arms of a specially designated “uncle” - the conductor of the Guards crew, A.E. Derevenko, assigned to him from the age of two. His love for Uncle Derevenko was tender, hot and touching. One of his greatest pleasures was playing with his uncle's children and being among ordinary soldiers.
Despite his illness, according to the recollections of his contemporaries, Alexey was a handsome boy, with a clean, open face, although too thin.
The Tsarevich had an easygoing character, he loved his parents and sisters very much, who, in turn, doted on him, especially Grand Duchess Maria. Alexey was a capable student and made progress in learning languages.
During the First World War, Alexey, who was the heir to the throne chief of several regiments and ataman of all Cossack troops, visited the active army with his father, awarded distinguished fighters, etc. He was awarded the silver St. George medal of the 4th degree for the courage shown during visiting a military hospital in a shelled zone.
In March 1917, Nicholas II signed for himself and his son the abdication of the throne in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich.
In August 1917, Alexey and his family were sent from Tsarskoye Selo into exile in Tobolsk, and later to Yekaterinburg. The last exacerbation of hemophilia occurred in Tobolsk at the beginning of 1918. T. Melnik described the onset of the illness as follows: “Suddenly Alexey Nikolaevich fell ill. This was a great misfortune for everyone, since he again suffered greatly, he had the same internal hemorrhage from the bruise that had already tormented him so much in Spala. Terribly lively and cheerful, he constantly jumped, galloped and played very violent games. One of them is a ride down the steps of the stairs in a wooden boat on runners, the other is some kind of improvised swing made from a log. I don’t know during which of them, but Alexey Nikolaevich hurt himself and fell ill again.” The Tsarevich never began to move normally until his death.
“Alexey took his first bath after Tobolsk; his knee is getting better, but he cannot straighten it completely. The weather is warm and pleasant. We have no news from outside,” says the last entry in the diary of Nicholas II, dated July 13, 1918.
A few days later - on the night of July 16-17 - Alexey was shot along with his parents and sisters in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.
According to the testimony of Medvedev, one of the participants in the execution, it took several shots to kill the Tsarevich.
In 1991, in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg, the remains of the executed royal family were discovered - Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, their daughters Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia and four people from the royal retinue. After lengthy examinations, it turned out that the remains of Tsarevich Alexei and Princess Maria were not among them.
In August 2007, charred remains were discovered in Porosyonkovo Log near Yekaterinburg, not far from a large burial site, presumably identified as the remains of Alexei and Maria. In 2008, genetic analysis confirmed that the remains belong to the children of Nicholas II. However, the Russian Orthodox Church did not recognize the results and the remains of Tsarevich Alexei were never buried. Since 2011 they have been stored in the State Archives of the Russian Federation
In September 2015, the investigation into the criminal case regarding the remains of members of the royal family - Grand Duchess Maria and heir to the throne Alexei - was resumed. In December 2015, the remains of Alexei and Maria were transferred for temporary storage to the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow.
His Imperial Highness, Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov, c. 1916
What is he famous for?
Heir Tsarevich and Grand Duke, fifth child and only son of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, who lived only 14 years and struggled with a serious illness throughout his short life.
Historians associate the rise of the elder and his enormous influence on the royal family (primarily Alexandra Feodorovna) and the political life of Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century with Grigory Rasputin’s ability to alleviate Alexei’s suffering. Even the warnings of the Empress’s sister Elizaveta Feodorovna that people’s dissatisfaction with Rasputin was being transferred to the royal family did not in any way affect the attitude of the Tsarevich’s mother towards the “elder”.
According to a number of researchers, it was largely the negative influence of Rasputin that led the country to revolution.
In 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Nicholas II, his wife and children, including Tsarevich Alexei, as holy new martyrs and confessors of Russia.
What you need to know
For a number of years after the execution of the royal family, the Soviet authorities stubbornly defended the official version that only Nicholas II was shot in the Ipatiev House, and that his wife and son were transported to a “safe place” (the fate of their daughters was kept silent). This misinformation fueled rumors that some family members managed to escape and escape with their lives. In addition, the body of the crown prince was not found in the general burial of the royal family, which still gives rise to numerous speculations. The number of “Alekseevs”, who at various times posed as the surviving son of the last Russian emperor, has already exceeded eight dozen.
The latest “sensation” that received a wide response on the Internet was the information that in fact the Tsarevich was not shot, but he was saved, grew up and became the Soviet People's Commissar, and then the Prime Minister of the USSR, Alexei Kosygin.
The primary source of the widely circulated sensation is the article “The Royal Family: Real Life after the Imaginary Execution” by Sergei Zhelenkov, called a historian of the royal family, in the newspaper “President”. According to this article, the execution in the Ipatiev House on the night of July 16-17, 1918 was allegedly staged, and the sovereign and his household managed to escape through a secret passage. Personally supervised by Stalin, according to Zhelenkov, Tsarevich Alexei eventually became Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin.
Direct speech
N. A. Sokolov about Tsarevich Alexei (from the book “The Murder of the Royal Family”): “The heir Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich was a boy of 14 years old, smart, observant, receptive, affectionate, cheerful. He was lazy and didn’t particularly like books. He combined the features of his father and mother: he inherited his father’s simplicity, was alien to arrogance, but had his own will and obeyed only his father. His mother wanted to, but could not be strict with him. His teacher Bitner says about him: “He had a great will and would never submit to any woman.” He was very disciplined, reserved and very patient. Undoubtedly, the disease left its mark on him and developed these traits in him. He did not like court etiquette, loved to be with the soldiers and learned their language, using purely folk expressions he overheard in his diary. He was reminiscent of his mother in his stinginess: he did not like to spend his money and collected various discarded things: nails, lead paper, ropes, etc.”
From the memoirs of G.P. Nikulin, a participant in the execution of the royal family: “When we went down to the basement, we also didn’t even think of putting chairs there at first to sit down, because this one was... didn’t walk, you know, Alexey, we had to put him down. Well, then they brought it up instantly. When they went down to the basement, they began to look at each other in bewilderment, they immediately brought in chairs, sat down, that means Alexandra Fedorovna, the heir, was imprisoned, and Comrade Yurovsky uttered the following phrase: “Your friends are advancing on Yekaterinburg , and therefore you are condemned to death." They didn’t even realize what was going on, because Nikolai just said immediately: “Ah!”, and at that time our salvo was already one, two, three. Well, there’s someone else there, which means, so to speak, well, or something, they weren’t quite completely killed yet. Well, then I had to shoot someone else..."
6 facts about Tsarevich Alexei
- At birth he was named in honor of St. Alexis of Moscow.
- Alexey inherited hemophilia from Queen Victoria of England, the most famous carrier of the hemophilia gene in history. One of her sons, Leopold, Duke of Albany, suffered from hemophilia. Usually only men suffer from this disease, while women act as carriers and can give birth to sick sons or carrier daughters. Two of her daughters became carriers of the hemophilia gene: the second daughter, Princess Alice, married to the Grand Duchess of Hesse and the Rhine, and the youngest daughter, Beatrice, married to the Duchess of Battenberg, as well as a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren born from these two daughters, including Tsarevich Alexei. For this reason, this disease was called “Victorian disease” and “Royal disease”.
- At the imperial court, the word “hemophilia” remained taboo until the death of the royal family. Nicholas II never mentioned him in any of his diary entries or in any of his letters—not even in his correspondence with his mother, the only person to whom the Tsar trusted with everything that worried him.
- The Tsarevich was very fond of everything connected with the Russian army. His favorite food, he said, was “cabbage soup and porridge and black bread, which all my soldiers eat.” Every day Alexey was brought sampler and porridge from the soldiers’ kitchen of the Consolidated Regiment; he ate everything and licked the spoon, saying: “This is delicious, not like our lunch.”
- The decision to abdicate the throne and for his son was made by Nicholas II after consultation with his life surgeon Professor Sergei Fedorov, who told the emperor that although one can live a long time with hemophilia, the life of the heir to the throne can be cut short by any absurd accident.
- During the execution, two dogs of the royal family, the French bulldog Ortino Tatyana and the royal spaniel Jimmy Anastasia, were killed when they started howling. Only Tsarevich Alexei's spaniel, named Joy, was saved because he did not howl. The dog was later taken in by the guard Letemin. Subsequently, Colonel Rodzianko handed Joy over to the British. They took the dog to England, where it was adopted into the family of King George, cousin of Emperor Nicholas II. Joy, a devoted friend of the Tsarevich and a witness to the murder of the imperial family, lived out his life at the English court in Windsor.
Materials about Tsarevich Alexei
Heresh Elizabeth. Tsarevich Alexey
Article about Tsarevich Alexei on Wikipedia
Was USSR Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin really the son of... the last Russian Tsar?
A short, poignant life...
Strangers among our own
Of the entire family of Nicholas II, Alexei, perhaps, endured more easily than others everything that befell the Romanov family after October 1917. Due to his age and character, he did not feel the threat hanging over them.
The family of the last emperor turned out to be strangers to everyone in their country. Supporters of the monarchy in Russia in 1918 became a real relic of the era - even in the ranks of the White movement they were a minority. But even among this minority, Nicholas II and his wife had no supporters. Perhaps what both Reds and Whites agreed on was their hatred of the deposed imperial couple. They, and not without reason, were considered the culprits of the disasters that befell the country.
Alexey and his sisters were not guilty of anything before Russia, but they became hostages of their origin.
The fate of the Romanov family was largely predetermined when England refused to shelter them. In a country gripped by civil war, when both sides of the conflict are seized by ever-increasing hatred, belonging to the imperial family becomes a death sentence. In this sense, Russia only followed the global trends laid down by the English and French revolutions.
Russian Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, Tsarevich Alexei. 1914. Photo: RIA Novosti
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The Emperor and Empress with their children Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Tsarevich Alexei
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with Tsarevich Alexei
Tsarevich Alexey
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The only son of Emperor Nicholas II, given by God in response to a long, diligent parental prayer, probably, without exaggeration, can be called the most attractive and most mysterious child figure in Russian history. “ During the baptism of the baby, a remarkable incident occurred that attracted the attention of all those present,” wrote Abbot Seraphim (Kuznetsov). “When the newborn Tsarevich was anointed with holy myrrh, he raised his hand and extended his fingers, as if blessing those present.” What could this boy have become if he had lived to adulthood? One can only assume that the Great Tsar was begged for Russia. But history does not know the “if” phrase. And although we understand that the figure of the young Tsarevich Alexei is too bright and unusual, we still turn to his bright image, wanting to find an example for teaching and imitation in the relationship of this boy with the outside world.
Baptism of Tsarevich Alexei, son of Nicholas II, Ilyas Faizullin
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“ Attitude towards women is the best way to test a man’s nobility. He must treat every woman with respect, regardless of whether she is rich or poor, high or low in social position, and show her every sign of respect ,” Empress Alexandra Feodorovna wrote in her diary. She could write such words with confidence: an example of male nobility, a chivalrous attitude towards a woman was always before her eyes - her husband, Emperor Nicholas II.
It is very important that from childhood the little Tsarevich Alexei could see respectful attitude towards women from a man whose authority was undeniable for him. The Emperor did not ignore even the little things, thanks to which it was possible to teach his son a lesson.
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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Claudia Mikhailovna Bitner, who gave lessons to the heir in Tobolsk, recalled him: “He combined the features of his father and mother. From his father he inherited his simplicity. There was no complacency, arrogance or arrogance in him at all. He was simple. But he had a great will and would never submit to outside influence. Now, the sovereign, if he took power again, I am sure, he would forget and forgive the actions of those soldiers who were known in this regard. Alexey Nikolaevich, if he received power, would never forget or forgive them for this and would draw the appropriate conclusions. He understood a lot and understood people. But he was closed and reserved. He was terribly patient, very careful, disciplined and demanding of himself and others. He was kind, like his father, in the sense that he did not have the ability in his heart to cause unnecessary harm. At the same time, he was thrifty. One day he was sick, he was served a dish that was shared with the whole family, which he did not eat because he did not like this dish. I was indignant. How can they not prepare a separate meal for a child when he is sick? I said something. He answered me: “Well, here’s another thing. There’s no need to waste money just because of me.”
Tsarevich Alexey and A.E. Derevenko.
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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Anna Taneyeva: “The life of Alexei Nikolaevich was one of the most tragic in the history of the royal children. He was a charming, affectionate boy, the most beautiful of all children. His parents and his nanny Maria Vishnyakova spoiled him a lot in his early childhood. And this is understandable, since it was very difficult to see the constant suffering of the little one; Whether he hit his head or his hand on the furniture, a huge blue tumor would immediately appear, indicating an internal hemorrhage that was causing him great suffering. As he began to grow up, his parents explained his illness to him, asking him to be careful. But the heir was very lively, loved the games and fun of boys, and it was often impossible to restrain him. “Give me a bicycle,” he asked his mother. “Alexey, you know you can’t!” - “I want to learn to play tennis like my sisters!” “You know you don’t dare play.” Sometimes Alexey Nikolaevich cried, repeating: “Why am I not like all the boys? "
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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He needed to be surrounded with special care and concern. That is why, on doctors’ orders, two sailors from the imperial yacht were assigned to him as bodyguards: the boatswain Derevenko and his assistant Nagorny. His teacher and mentor Pierre Gilliard recalls: “ Alexey Nikolaevich had great agility of mind and judgment and a lot of thoughtfulness. He sometimes amazed me with questions above his age, which testified to a delicate and sensitive soul. In the little capricious creature that he seemed at first, I discovered a child with a heart that was naturally loving and sensitive to suffering, because he himself had already suffered a lot.”
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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The upbringing of any boy, as the future head of the family, should consist of instilling responsibility, independence, and the ability to make a decision in the right situation, without looking at anyone. At the same time, it is necessary to cultivate compassion and sensitivity and an important property - the ability to listen to the opinions of other people. The boy needs to be prepared for the role of husband, father and master of the house. For Tsarevich Alexei, all of Russia was such a home.
“ The queen inspired her son that everyone is equal before God and that one should not be proud of one’s position, but one must be able to behave nobly without humiliating one’s position ” (Hegumen Seraphim (Kuznetsov). “Orthodox Tsar-Martyr”). If the mother had not made efforts to do this, then the position of the heir’s teacher, which was already difficult, would have become even more difficult.
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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«I realized more clearly than ever how much environmental conditions were hindering the success of my efforts. I had to contend with the servility of the servants and the absurd admiration of some of those around me. And I was even very surprised to see how the natural simplicity of Alexei Nikolaevich resisted these immoderate praises.
I remember how a deputation of peasants from one of the central provinces of Russia once came to bring gifts to the heir to the crown prince. The three men of whom it consisted, by order given in a whisper by the boatswain Derevenko, knelt before Alexei Nikolaevich to present him with their offerings. I noticed the embarrassment of the child, who blushed crimson. As soon as we were alone, I asked him if he was pleased to see these people kneeling in front of him. “Oh no! But Derevenko says that’s how it’s supposed to be!”
I then spoke with the boatswain, and the child was delighted that he was freed from what was a real nuisance for him».
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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I. Stepanov recalls: “ In the last days of January 1917, I was in the Tsar’s Alexander Palace with the tutor of the heir Gilliard, and we went with him to the Tsarevich. Alexey Nikolaevich and some cadet were animatedly playing a game near a large toy fortress. They positioned soldiers, fired cannons, and their whole lively conversation was full of modern military terms: machine gun, airplane, heavy artillery, trenches, etc. However, the game soon ended, and the heir and the cadet began to look at some books. Then Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna entered... All this furnishing of the heir’s two children’s rooms was simple and did not give any idea that the future Russian Tsar was living here and receiving his initial upbringing and education. There were maps hanging on the walls, there were cabinets with books, there were several tables and chairs, but all this was simple, modest to the extreme.
Alexey Nikolaevich, speaking to me, recalled our conversation with him when he was on the train with the sovereign in the fall of 1915 in the south of Russia: “Remember, you told me that in Novorossiya Catherine the Great, Potemkin and Suvorov tied Russian influence and Turkish The sultan forever lost importance in the Crimea and the southern steppes. I liked this expression, and then I told my dad about it. I always tell him what I like." .
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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It was especially clearly demonstrated that the boy cared a lot about Russia, but little about himself, in the episode told by Gilliard. However, the little prince’s modesty did not at all interfere with his awareness of himself as the heir to the throne. The episode that S. Ya. Ofrosimova told about is quite well known: “ The Tsarevich was not a proud child, although the thought that he was a future king filled his entire being with the consciousness of his highest destiny. When he was in the company of noble people and people close to the sovereign, he became aware of his royalty.
One day the Tsarevich entered the office of the sovereign, who at that time was talking with the minister. When the heir entered, the sovereign’s interlocutor did not find it necessary to stand up, but only, rising from his chair, offered his hand to the crown prince. The heir, offended, stopped in front of him and silently put his hands behind his back; this gesture did not give him an arrogant appearance, but only a regal, expectant pose. The minister involuntarily stood up and straightened up to his full height in front of the crown prince. The Tsarevich responded to this with a polite handshake. Having told the sovereign something about his walk, he slowly left the office, the sovereign looked after him for a long time and finally said with sadness and pride: “Yes. It won’t be as easy for you to deal with him as it was with me.” ».
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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According to the memoirs of Julia Den, Alexei, while still a very small boy, already realized that he was the heir: “ Her Majesty insisted that the Tsarevich, like his sisters, be raised completely naturally. In the everyday life of the heir, everything happened casually, without any ceremony, he was the son of his parents and the brother of his sisters, although sometimes it was funny to watch him pretend to be an adult. One day, when he was playing with the Grand Duchesses, he was informed that officers from his sponsored regiment had come to the palace and asked permission to see the Tsarevich. The six-year-old child, immediately leaving the fuss with his sisters, declared with an important look: “Girls, go away, the heir will have a reception .
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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Klavdia Mikhailovna Bitner said: “ I don’t know if he thought about power. I had a conversation with him about this. I told him: “What if you reign?” He answered me: “No, it’s over forever.” I told him: “Well, what if it happens again, if you reign?” He answered me: “Then we need to arrange it so that I know more about what is going on around me.” I once asked him what he would do with me then. He said that he would build a large hospital, appoint me to manage it, but he would come and “interrogate” everything, whether everything was in order. I’m sure that with him there would be order .”
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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Yes, one can assume that under Emperor Alexei Nikolaevich there would be order. This tsar could have been very popular among the people, since will, discipline and awareness of his own high position were combined in the nature of the son of Nicholas II with kindness and love for people.
A. A. Taneyeva: “ The heir took an ardent part if the servants experienced any grief. His Majesty was also compassionate, but did not actively express it, while Alexey Nikolaevich did not calm down until he immediately helped. I remember the case of a cook who for some reason was denied a position. Alexey Nikolaevich somehow found out about this and pestered his parents all day until they ordered the cook to be taken back again. He defended and stood up for all his people .”
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Tsarevich Alexei
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Y. Ofrosimova: “ The heir, the Tsarevich, had a very soft and kind heart. He was passionately attached not only to those close to him, but also to the ordinary employees around him. None of them saw arrogance or harsh behavior from him. He especially quickly and passionately became attached to ordinary people. His love for Uncle Derevenko was tender, hot and touching. One of his greatest pleasures was playing with his uncle's children and being among ordinary soldiers. With interest and deep attention, he peered into the lives of ordinary people, and often an exclamation escaped him: “When I am king, there will be no poor and unhappy people, I want everyone to be happy.”
The Tsarevich’s favorite food was “cabbage soup and porridge and black bread, which all my soldiers eat,” as he always said. Every day they brought him sampler and porridge from the soldiers’ kitchen of the Consolidated Regiment; The Tsarevich ate everything and still licked the spoon. Beaming with pleasure, he said: “This is delicious - not like our lunch.” Sometimes, eating almost nothing at the royal table, he quietly made his way with his dog to the buildings of the royal kitchen and, knocking on the glass windows, asked the cooks for a hunk of black bread and secretly shared it with his curly-haired favorite.” .
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
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P. Gilliard: “ We set out immediately after breakfast, often stopping at the exit of oncoming villages to watch how the peasants worked. Alexey Nikolaevich loved to question them; they answered him with the good nature and simplicity characteristic of a Russian peasant, completely unaware of who they were talking to .
Emperor Nicholas himself did an enormous amount to instill in his son attention and compassion for people. Gilliard recalled the time when the Tsarevich was with the sovereign at Headquarters: “ On the way back, having learned from General Ivanov that there was an advanced dressing station nearby, the sovereign decided to go straight there. We drove into a dense forest and soon noticed a small building, dimly lit by the red light of torches. The Emperor, accompanied by Alexei Nikolaevich, entered the house, approached all the wounded and talked to them with great kindness. His sudden visit at such a late hour and so close to the front line caused amazement to be expressed on all faces. One of the soldiers, who had just been put back to bed after bandaging, looked intently at the sovereign, and when the latter bent over him, he raised his only good hand to touch his clothes and make sure that before him was really a king, and not vision. Alexey Nikolaevich stood slightly behind his father. He was deeply shocked by the groans he heard and the suffering he discerned around him .”
Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich
Emperor Nicholas II and Tsarevich Alexei
Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Tsarevich Alexei
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The heir adored his father, and the sovereign in his “ happy days” dreamed of raising his son himself. But for a number of reasons this was impossible, and Mr. Gibbs and Monsieur Gilliard became Alexei Nikolaevich’s first mentors. Subsequently, when circumstances changed, the sovereign managed to fulfill his desire.
He gave lessons to the crown prince in a gloomy house in Tobolsk. The lessons continued in the poverty and squalor of Yekaterinburg captivity. But perhaps the most important lesson that the heir and the rest of the family learned was the lesson of faith. It was faith in God that supported them and gave them strength at a time when they were deprived of their treasures, when their friends abandoned them, when they found themselves betrayed by that very country, more important than which nothing in the world existed for them.
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